


One Day at a Time

by BulletStrong



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Swan Queen - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-25 11:18:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13833063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BulletStrong/pseuds/BulletStrong
Summary: Emma and Regina watch One Day at a Time and realize they may relate to the show in more ways than they thought. Swan Queen.





	One Day at a Time

**Author's Note:**

> Let me be honest... I get really insecure about my writing abilities and sometimes I swear off writing, which I almost did again, but someone commented on a story and was so lovely that I thought I should try to write a meaningless one shot to keep these creative juices flowing!
> 
> Voila! Welcome to the meaningless (maybe not so meaningless??) one shot that sprouted from all of this! 
> 
> Thank you for giving my story a chance and I hope you enjoy it!

“Come on, Regina! I’ve waited a whole year for the new season and you’re slowing us down!”

Regina swaggers into the living room and levels a heated glare at her blonde friend perched on the couch. “I was microwaving the damn popcorn you claim you need.”

“It’s a necessity, Regina.” Emma furrows her brow incredulously then plucks the bowl from Regina’s hands as she nears and pats the empty cushion beside her. “Come here. We have to binge season 1 today because you somehow missed the bandwagon—which, really? This show is all over social media.”

“I still own a blackberry, Emma.” Which, okay. Emma tried to upgrade her to an Android or iPhone but watching Regina fumble around with Henry’s smartphone when she’s trying to snoop was painful enough.

“Just sit down so we can immerse ourselves in this future classic,” Emma tugs Regina down by her silk blouse and she lands in an ungraceful heap with a grunt. Emma ignores the mumbled idiot in favor of pressing play on the remote.

She’s honestly taking advantage of this whole thing since Regina almost never agrees to watch a show Emma recommends. She usually scoffs at her, labels her tastes as, well, tasteless, and downright refuses to even attempt watching, but when Emma brought up the Netflix series One Day at a Time, Henry stepped in and vouched for it, which of course had Regina logging into Netflix immediately. Their sons word is like gospel to the brunette.

“Wasn’t this show on television during the eighties?” Regina asks as the first scene opens inside a doctor’s office.

“This is a reboot of that show... kind of. You’ll see, just watch.”

Regina doesn’t react for a while. She doesn’t laugh or smile or make snarky comments, and Emma’s not sure if that’s a good thing. The biggest complaint she’s heard is that some don’t find it funny, too preoccupied with the laugh track to enjoy the show, and Regina would totally be the person in the family to agree. But then, Regina turns to her when the credits roll on the first episode and smirks, “It’s enjoyable enough.”

“It gets even better.”

By the end of episode five, Regina’s snapping at her to play the sixth and Emma knows she’s hooked—enraptured? That douche of a pirate Emma dated for two minutes during the Elsa debacle ruined the word.

As the single mother, Penelope, panics over her daughter being alone with a boy, Emma snickers and turns to Regina. “That’s totally you.”

“It is not!” Regina huffs. At Emma’s grin, she snaps. “We both know I would’ve maimed him without a second thought.”

“I shouldn’t think your murderous nature is cute, yet...”

Regina sniffs delicately. “I’m a dark witch capable of mass murder, I am not cute.”

Which is debatable, in Emma’s humble opinion, but they’re distracted by the loud laugh track as Penelope gets stuck in a doggy door trying to spy on her daughter.

When they reach the last few episodes, where Elena comes to terms with her sexuality and Penelope tries to be supportive and learn to accept, Regina’s starts bawling out of nowhere and Emma’s finger itch to comfort her but she knows Regina still hates showing weakness so she keeps her eyes on the screen, swallowing the lump in her throat and pretending not to hear quiet sniffles from her friend.

When the credits roll, Regina’s hand lands squarely on her thigh and squeezes in silent thanks as she mumbles, “I wish I could’ve had that love and support when I...”

 _When I came out_ , Emma’s mind finishes. It’s not exactly startling, truthfully, because Regina may not have verbally confirmed her suspicions in the past but those brown eyes said everything she hadn’t. Emma saw how Regina looked at her, at Maleficent... Hell, even at Guin. And it’s not shocking that Cora would’ve stopped at nothing to strike down those desires in her daughter. She was molding a Queen.

Emma takes the hand from her lap and interlaces their fingers. It’s an intimacy they haven’t reached before but it’s somehow comfortable and calming.

So calming that her lips loosen. “I’m afraid to tell Snow... about me. I think she’ll be disappointed. She was pushing me to be with Neal, then with Hook, and now all she does is lecture me about true love and finding the right man, and I can’t lose her.”

Regina blinks, her mouth falling open into a soft, understanding smile. “Snow is many things but she’s not a bigot, Emma. She wants you to find love and be happy, and she’s assuming it’s a man because, well, heteronormativity, but also because she hasn’t been told to think differently.”

“You really think she’d be okay with it?” Emma asks. Regina’s thumb starts caressing the back of her hand.

“She won’t even bat an eyelash. She and I didn’t have much time to gossip and have girl talks back in the day, but I’m fairly sure your mother is also slightly partial to the fairer sex.” Regina chuckles at Emma’s half-stunned, half-disgusted expression. “You should tell her, for your own peace of mind.”

“Yeah... yeah, maybe I will.” Emma mumbles, practically silenced by the show’s theme song blaring through the speakers. Regina’s sitting close enough to hear it anyway.

Regina hates Victor, Elena’s homophobic father, and curses at the television in Spanish, which shocks Emma for some reason. She’s never really thought about Regina’s race or her roots, probably because she lumped everyone into the fairytale category and never thought to ask, and it honestly makes her feel a bit guilty now.

Regina mistakes her discomfort for something else entirely. “Snow will be Penelope, don’t you worry.”

The words make Emma crack a smile, because she’s seen season one at least three times and knows each storylines backwards and forwards but Regina’s soothing her like she’s being hit for the first time. It’s moments like this that make Emma question just how much antagonizing it took to make this sweet, caring, cute woman become an Evil Queen.

And Emma doesn’t need her to reiterate her point several times. She believed her the first time. While Henry’s words are Regina’s gospel, Regina’s are hers.

“You’re Penelope too, Regina. You know that, right?” Regina squints, her mouth pulled taut, and Emma sighs at the self deprecation she sees. “You were a badass single mom that loved your kid and would do anything for him. I’m sorry I didn’t see that sooner.”

“I didn’t instill much confidence, did I?” Regina clears her throat uncomfortably.

“I shouldn’t have waltzed into town and acted entitled to Henry’s time. You were scared to lose him...” Emma swallows roughly, ignoring the episode still playing in the background as she stares at her friend. “I’m glad we’re here, that we’re a team. I couldn’t imagine a life where you weren’t around to scold me for feeding Henry too much junk food.”

Regina chuckles, deep yet strangled by emotion. “As far as happy endings go, I think I did well. Henry, Snow, Charming, Neal... you and I. I think it’s much, much more than I perhaps deserve.”

“You deserve everything you want, Regina. You’ve worked so hard to be here, you’ve earned this.” Emma bites her lip to stop herself from revealing too much, but Regina lifts their hands to her lips and kisses the spot where their hands are pressed together and Emma feels every bit of self-control disappear.

“Emma...” Regina’s throaty whisper pulls her in until their noses are bumping clumsily. “You and I...”

“Yeah...” Emma mumbles, her lips more preoccupied with closing the distance and finally—finally—kissing the red stained ones she’s been craving since they stuttered in asking her if she was Henry’s birth mother all those years ago.

It’s soft, slow, sensual, so opposite of what Emma envisioned. She expected fire and biting and hunger, but this affection and love makes her heart stutter and beat against her ribcage with ferocity. This is more than simple passion. It means more. This love grew over years and through trials and tribulations.

It grew one day at a time.

As Regina sighs against her lips, Emma can’t help but look forward to the hundreds upon thousands of days she’ll get to spend loving this woman.


End file.
